The Cat's Meow
by Barrel of Monkeys
Summary: He started as a very stressed human boy, but through strange events, possible divine intervention, and magic he is now a well loved cat leading a very exciting life with a Japanese tennis prodigy. Harry-is-Karupin story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Year's ago there was a story called 'The Green-eyed Himalayan Cat' by an author whose name I forgot. I loved it when I read it and wanted to write a Harry is Karupin story myself and asked them if that was okay. They said yes, and I started on this only to get distracted and find it buried years later under several other abandoned story starts. The original story is no longer posted which makes me sad, but I didn't want to leave this idea is a dusty corner forever.

* * *

 **The Cat's Meow**

Stress wasn't a foreign concept to Harry. Every day seemed to lead to more and more in his young life. He couldn't remember a time when he wasn't stressed. One of his first memories was Aunt Petunia dragging him to the stove, putting him on a chair and telling him to watch the bacon. He didn't know how to watch the bacon. Was it going to run away? After a while Aunt Petunia returned and screamed at him for letting it burn. It was looking a little black, but he didn't know what he was supposed to do when that happened. It changed colours the whole time. That's when he started feeling stressed. Every day after that came with new challenges, more things that he had to worry and stress over. Clean this, cook that, wash all of these things… it was a never-ending mountain of things to do.

He learned about stress and what it meant a year after Aunt Petunia put him in charge of breakfast. Stress isn't healthy he heard. One of the neighbours mentioned that her niece got a new job that put so much pressure on her that she worried day and night about it. All that stress had caused her to have a break down. She was currently in a special hospital to help put her back together. Harry almost cried when he heard the news. He knew he was stressed and now he had to worry about his limbs falling off!

That night he was fixing his relative's dinner, his arm started feeling weird. The heavy pan in his hand started to wobble and then his arm started to grow heavy and cold. When the weight finally became too much for him and he dropped it, he burst into tears straight away. Uncle Vernon appeared and started to yell, while Aunt Petunia scolded him from the side. Through the tears and noise, Harry managed to scream that he didn't want his limbs to fall off from stress. Uncle Vernon stuttered to a halt at that and Aunt Petunia sent him a searching look.

"Alright boy, you feeling stressed? Well I'll show you what your mother did when she got that way." It was the first time Harry had ever really heard his Aunt talk about his mother without an insult involved. The shock was enough to make him stop crying. Aunt Petunia grabbed him by the back of the neck and marched him toward a wall. She smashed his head against the wallpaper and left him. "Keep your head there and count to ten. If that doesn't work, count again until you calm down. When you're finished- clean this mess up."

Harry started to count. Quite quickly since he knew Aunt Petunia wouldn't want her kitchen floor to be messy for long. It didn't work though. His heart just sped up knowing that he wasn't doing whatever he was supposed to be doing right. He tried again but no matter how fast he counted he wouldn't calm down. He could feel tears prickling his eyes, his breathing sped up. This wasn't helping.

"Count slowly you idiot child. Get yourself together. Vernon, I think we will have to eat out tonight. The boy is completely useless," Aunt Petunia spoke up.

Harry slowed his counting. He tried going at half speed and he did feel a little better when he hit ten. He slowed it down even more, breathing deeply as he went. Each time he hit ten he felt a little better. He kept going, finally feeling better on the seventh go around. When he stepped away from the wall, he felt lighter, like it was easier to breathe. His heart settled finally.

He carried on from there. Whenever he got stressed, he would plonk his forehead on a wall and count slowly. Sometimes when his Aunt saw him do this, she would finish the task for him, but most times she would tell him to keep going when he finished counting.

The days leading up to Harry's eleventh birthday had been calm. Nothing was out of the ordinary, just how the Dursley's liked it. The days passed slowly with little to no excitement… until the letters started appearing. Oh, Harry hadn't planned to be the cause of his Uncle's breakdown, it just kind of… happened… but he would never say he regretted it.

The entire thing came about because Uncle Vernon went slightly crazy over the mysterious letters he started receiving. Not the ' _yell at the heavens with a tinfoil hat so the government doesn't steal your thoughts'_ kind of crazy… but more of a ' _these letters better stop before I set fire to every blasted owl in Britain'_ type of crazy. It wasn't a common crazy, at least Harry didn't think so, but it happened and it led to them driving around England looking for the most remote location where an owl could never find them.

They had stayed at a motel the first night until the letters buried the front desk and an upset looking manager promptly kicked them out. The next day as Uncle Vernon drove around looking at forest clearings and open fields, he suddenly came to a stop. He got out of the car near the harbor, looked around and spotted a little hut on a rock out in the water. He was about to approach a sketchy looking man before he shook his head and got back in the car and drove them straight to the airport. "The only way to avoid them is to leave the country!" He loudly declared as he parked the car and ushered them all through the airport.

Tickets were bought for the earliest flight out and Vernon sat them in the waiting area as he bought four bags and shoved some gift shop t-shirts in them with extra socks. "All we'll need where we're going," he muttered as he perused the items on the counter while the clerk rang up his purchases.

They boarded the plane and landed in Florida where Uncle Vernon practically skipped out of the airport. He stopped to rent a car and then they were on their way again. The plan was solid, except… apparently even the vast ocean couldn't stop the owls. Two days after arriving, Uncle Vernon was woken as the front desk rang the room and told him that large piles of letters were waiting for a 'Mr. H Potter. Room 307, Orchard Hotel, Orlando Florida.'

From there a rage happened. Anger he had never seen his Uncle display before. Uncle Vernon shot up out of bed and started screaming into the phone, telling the poor lady at the front desk to '-burn all those foul letters, and call animal control to shoot every owl in sight!' he bellowed, he stomped, and when he finally slammed the abused receiver down he stormed over to Harry and tore him away from where he was resting his head against the dresser.

"Boy!" he started. "I'm tired of this! I can't live like this. I have a job, a family to provide for, and if I go crazy with all these blasted letters how will they live. I'm done!"

Harry trembled in fear as his uncle's face got redder and redder. A vein started throbbing over Vernon's left eye, spittle was slamming into his face and with each word his uncle's fist squeezed harder and harder against his throat. "M-maybe you c-could try c-counting…" he tried to speak. It worked for him after all.

"I'm done! You want to know why these letters keep coming? Because you're a freak! You're a stick waving, gibberish spouting, voodoo casting unnatural magical freak just like your mother!" Vernon yelled.

If he could breathe, Harry imagined he would have had made a very shocked noise at the announcement. His uncle clearly went off the deep end if he was talking about magic. His entire time living with the Dursley's, Vernon always told him things like magic didn't exist. For him to be believing in it now meant something seriously wrong was happening in his Uncle's brain.

"If they want you so badly they can have you! I'll tie you to boat and ship you out to sea. Let's see how far their determination goes then eh? Will they go all the way out there to get you or let you die?"

A deep pit of fear churned wildly in Harry's stomach at his uncle's words. He wouldn't really tie him to a boat and leave him be, would he? The more he thought about it the more Harry was certain that his uncle would do just that. He had been threatened before in the past about being left somewhere, and once Uncle Vernon had done just that. He left Harry outside a football stadium and where the police found him wrapped around a garbage can, his head against the metal, and counting to ten. They returned him later that night, and Vernon pretended to act all worried and blamed Harry for lying about going to a friend's. He would do it, and Harry knew that he would die. His stress levels were spiking and he just knew something was going to fall off.

Magic wasn't real. No one was looking for him, which meant as soon as he was left to sea he would no doubt die. The fear in his belly slammed against his sides like fierce waves crashing onto the land. He didn't want to die! Harry desperately begged and pleaded with any higher power that would listen to just let him live, to send someone to come and save him.

Harry clenched his eyes closed tightly and let the fear wash over him, letting it power his prayers so that they may reach God, Allah, Buddha, heck if he was going out to sea even Poseidon was an acceptable choice to hear his desperate prayers. He wasn't being picky at the moment, whoever granted his wish would have his eternal faith and loyalty.

"-can't wait to be done with you!" His uncle muttered angrily as he started carrying Harry towards the door. At that moment Harry wished he could just turn his body and escape. As soon as the door opened, he wished he had the ability to slip through his uncle's fingers and just dart away, to run to safety.

He could hear the lock thud as his uncle flipped it open and then the soft churning of the handle turning. As the bottom of the door dragged over the carpet, Harry acted. He didn't know where the strength or bravery came from; it felt like his body was moving on its own. In one second, as he twisted his body his hand snapped out and scratched the back of his uncle's hand. His body dropped to the floor and he ran down the hallway on all fours. He raced around the corner and upon seeing the elevator doors closing; he pushed himself harder and managed to slip through them just in time.

Panting Harry dropped to the floor and closed his eyes in relief. He escaped. He managed to get away.

"Che. Some idiot lost their cat," a young voice sounded from above him. Slowly opening his eyes, Harry looked up, and up, and up until he spotted a young Asian boy staring down at him. Beside the boy stood a man with a scruffy appearance and a nice looking woman. Together they looked like the boy's parents.

"Ryoma, that's not nice to say. Someone might be worried about him," the woman scolded her son.

He wasn't really listening to the conversation because he tried to stand up to only find that he didn't get any taller. It finally happened. All the stress had made his legs fall off! He was going to die in this elevator because he would never be able to walk out. The staff might help him by getting him to a doctor but he was pretty sure his Uncle would never let them get his legs back from the room. His legs were gone forever! This was it. No matter how fast he ran or what he did, he couldn't escape.

His breathing sped up, and all his stress signs were coming out. Harry didn't want to find out what else might fall off. Walking to the wall, Harry bumped is head against it and started to count. Inhale deeply, one, exhale slowly. Inhale deeply, two, exhale slowly. Inhale deeply, three, exhale slowly. His breathing was coming back to him, and his mind was coming together.

The man was looking at him curiously, but Harry didn't care as the boy's words echoed through his mind. 'Cat?' Looking around the elevator he couldn't see a cat. What was the boy talking about? Deciding to sit up as best he could in his new condition, and ignore the family, Harry rose to his feet and paused. Feet? Frowning, Harry tried to stand up taller but his four legs weren't letting him get any bigger. He stopped. Four legs? Frantically looking down, Harry noticed two little black paws in front of him and looking behind he noticed a long black tail.

The word 'Cat' started echoing loudly through his mind. He couldn't really be a cat could he? He was a boy! He was a young eleven-year-old boy with no legs and two arms, and no tail. Walking closer to the reflective elevator doors, a sense of dread washed over him when the face of a white furry cat stared back. His stress levels hit maximum level as a barely audible strangled 'mew' escaped his mouth before he flopped over sideways in a dead faint.

He was a bloody cat.

o.O.o

When he woke up, Harry took a steadying breath and bopped his head against the soft fabric under him. It was all a dream. It had to be! He wasn't a cat that was just silly. It was his imagination acting out. Nope, when he opened his eyes he would be on the floor in the hotel room, Dudley would be sleeping on the couch nearby, and his Aunt and Uncle would be taking up the bed. Yup, that's how it was going to be as soon as he opened his eyes.

But it wasn't. Instead of the rough generic carpet of the hotel's floor, Harry was nearly blinded by the harsh yellow light from the table lamp. Mewing in displeasure, Harry clenched his eyes closed and wrapped his tail around to cover them.

Tail…mews… Harry whimpered pathetically as his hopes were dashed. He was a cat. Whether by divine intervention or magic, he didn't care because he was a cat. A cat…this would take some getting used to. His head was going to be forever stuck to every flat surface he could find because he had no idea how his anxiety was ever going to go away.

Harry was so caught up in his thoughts that the feeling of someone petting him gave him quite the shock. Jumping up in fear, Harry whipped around to see the Asian boy from before staring at him with wide eyes. The shock on the boy's face, Ryoma was it, was quickly gone though.

Ryoma's face developed a determined edge just before the boy reached out and attempted to pet Harry again. Too scared to move and not sure what to do, Harry allowed the boy to pet him. The strokes were soft and confident, easing Harry's fur down. They were comforting… Harry wasn't sure he had ever been treated so softly before. A rumbling started in his chest and soon he was batting his head against Ryoma's hand, wanting to be petted more as his purring escalated in volume. It was probably the first time his stress went away without counting.

"Stupid Oyagi, he said I wasn't good with animals," Ryoma whispered.

Harry agreed. Whoever this 'Oyagi' was, clearly didn't know that Ryoma was a master of petting.

Soon enough, Ryoma stopped his ministrations and Harry heard himself cry out in disappointment. Without the comfort offered to him by Ryoma, his stress was coming back. The boy gave him a small smile at his noises and scooped Harry up into his arms. Nuzzling against the boy's warm chest, Harry felt very comfortable and relaxed as he listened to the steady beat of Ryoma's heart.

"Oyagi, the cat's awake," Ryoma called out as the entered the hallway and approached the open door opposite.

The scruffy man from before appeared suddenly, "Look at that, he likes you. I thought for sure he would scratch your eyes out or something. Ha ha ha! Not nearly as feisty as I thought."

"Che. I'm keeping him," Ryoma boldly declared. Harry felt like he should have protested or made another escape attempt but Ryoma was scratching between his ears and it was the best feeling in the world. As far as he was concerned if he were going to be a cat, he would rather like to stay with Ryoma and his magical fingers that chased all stress away.

"Seishonen … He probably has an owner who is very worried about him," Oyagi argued.

"Che." Ryoma didn't bother listening to his father's words. Instead the boy walked away and into his room. Harry giggled at the action, slightly impressed with the boy's attitude. He would never dare act in such a manner to Uncle Vernon, but it was interesting to see others do it.

"Baka Oyagi," Ryoma whispered under his breath. The boy lightly dropped Harry on his bed and then picked up a sports bag. He dug around in it before pulling out some black tape. "If I make you a collar then you're mine," Ryoma stated firmly.

Harry watched as the boy used the Hotel's message pad to scribble down 'Ryoma's cat'. He ripped the paper into a circle and then used the textured tape from his bag to make a collar and tape the paper circle around Harry's neck. "See, it says you're my cat. I'll name you later. Right now you have to stay here because I have a tennis tournament." Ryoma gave him one more scratch between the ears before taking his sports bag and leaving.

Apparently his rescuer was the two-time junior national tennis champion and was working on his third title. When the boy returned from the tournament, he told Harry about the people he played and how poor their skills were. He talked about how he hoped there would be more interesting opponents in the semi-finals, and how one day he would beat his father. Harry listened, finding the entire thing fascinating. He never had any friends to talk to, so listening to someone besides Dudley gave him a new view on the world.

Just as Ryoma was finished washing and was about to get dressed there was a knock on the door. Muttering under his breath, the grumpy boy threw on the hotel provided robe and opened the door to see a hotel worker standing on the other side. Harry carefully hid himself under the bed, and watched warily.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you sir, but another hotel guest has complained about his missing cat. According to the security camera's footage the cat was last seen being carried into your room," The worker rattled off in a clean and efficient manner. Harry shuddered. It seemed he hadn't escaped as he hoped. Vernon had roped the hotel staff into searching for him and if he was caught, Vernon would probably strangle him in his new form.

Ryoma glared at the worker. "I saw him and brought him here because he fainted. But when I returned from my tournament he had escaped through the open window. Maybe you should check the grounds," the boy lied.

The worker seemed displeased as he spoke next, "Would you mind if I just quickly checked your room? Just as a precaution."

"Che." Ryoma sent a small glare at the worker. "I'm 11 and naked under this robe. I think it would be best if you went and got one of my parents before you enter my room," Ryoma spoke calmly. The worker seemed embarrassed by the boy's words and promptly blushed and apologized.

"You're right of course. I'll just go ask permission first," the worker hurried off and Ryoma shut the door behind him.

"Cat, we need to find you a good hiding spot," Ryoma declared.

Harry crawled out from under the bed and mew'd at the boy. He wanted to apologize and tell the boy that he should just let Harry go. It would be a lot less trouble for the boy if he forgot all about Harry. But, with his new form he could only meow pathetically and hoped that the boy wouldn't get hurt form his Uncle's rampage.

Ryoma went over to his luggage and threw on some clothes quickly as he looked around. "Do you think you can fit in a drawer?" He asked.

Harry frowned- at least he thinks he did. He didn't know how his new face worked. He probably could but it was most likely that the worker would find him. Mewing sadly, Harry walked over to the balcony and pawed at the door, trying to get Ryoma to understand. The boy looked sad and like he wanted to protest, but Harry gave him the biggest eyes he could, trying to convey to the boy that he would come back.

"You better come back," Ryoma told him sternly. He opened the door though and Harry jumped lightly on the railing. It was nice having the cat like reflexes. Harry was happy to note that the balconies were all relatively close together which made it easy for him to skip from one to other. He only went four down before he settled down on a nice sunny spot to wait.

It didn't take long. Soon Harry could hear the worker stepping onto Ryoma's balcony and sighing as he saw Harry was at another resident's room. "Well he did escape… let's hope he stays in one place," the worker said to Ryoma as he ducked back inside.

Harry didn't have any plans on staying. Nope as soon as the worker disappeared he stood up, stretched and leaped lightly down a few more rooms. The worker popped up at this previous room and huffed in irritation. Harry meowed in satisfaction. This was becoming fun.

Moving to a new location, Harry gave into his urge to groom himself. The whole licking oneself really should have weirded him out more, but it didn't. He stayed like that until the worker popped up again. "Just stay in one place, okay kitty?" the man tried to gently coax him. Harry carried on grooming as if he hadn't heard. Once the worker left, he slipped back a few balconies, and waited. This pattern carried on, Harry moving room to room until the worker called in back up. While a new hotel worker stayed on one balcony keeping a look-out, the first worker moved to the room specified.

It was irritating having his game intruded upon, so he needed a new plan. He stopped on a new balcony and looked down, contemplating the jump when a hand snatched his tail and yanked hard.

Screaming in pain, Harry whipped around and clawed at the culprit. As his claws sunk into meaty flesh, he froze. Uncle Vernon was staring down at him cruelly. It looked like he picked the wrong balcony to stop on. He hadn't known Ryoma was staying on the same floor as his family, but he should have guessed. After all they had just entered the elevator when Harry joined them.

"Hey! Let go of my cat, you're hurting him," Ryoma yelled from a few rooms over.

Vernon looked at the Asian boy and scowled. "This is my cat and I'll do what I like! Mind your own business you brat!"

Vernon grabbed him around the neck and pulled, trying to dislodge him. Harry hung on tightly, hoping to inflict as much damage as he could on his uncle.

"He's mine. Just look at his collar," Ryoma called back.

Uncle Vernon ignored him and continued his pursuit of strangling Harry. He stayed on though, trying to dig his teeth deeper and deeper, hoping the pain would cause his uncle to release him. Harry was happily surprised when his Uncle let out a strangled yelp and dropped him. Looking around Harry was stunned to see his uncle holding his neck and glaring at Ryoma. The boy was looking back smugly and twirled a tennis racket in his fingers.

"He's my cat," Ryoma stated firmly.

Harry shook himself from his shock and used the time to escape; leaping over a rolling tennis ball and onto the railing he quickly made his way back to Ryoma. The boy was expecting him and scooped him out of the air mid leap. He could hear Vernon yelling behind him, but he didn't pay attention as Ryoma was quick to cuddle him close and dashed through his room and into the hall.

Knocking hurriedly on the door opposite his room, Harry watched as Ryoma sent desperate looks down the hallway.

"Boy!" The bellows caused both Ryoma and Harry to tense and stare at the large man lumbering towards them.

The door opened and the man, Oyagi, was standing there looking concerned. Ryoma ducked behind him, hiding them as his uncle reached the door.

"Give me that cat!" He hollered.

"Yadda! He's my cat," Ryoma firmly stood behind his words.

"You give it here boy!" Uncle Vernon was colouring quickly.

The old man, who Harry had already written off, suddenly seemed larger and more intimidating as he pushed Ryoma and Harry further into his room. "I'm sorry sir, but who are you to chase and yell at my son?" He demanded.

"I'm the owner of that cat and your boy is nothing but a thief!" Vernon yelled, drawing other residents out of their rooms as well as the two hotel staff. "Give me that cat or I'll charge every single one of you!"

The poor hotel attendant that started the search was hovering at the side, cautiously approaching his uncle. "I'm sure that won't be necessary, I'm sure we can all work this out," he said in a placating tone.

"There's nothing to work out. This man here is harassing my son and trying to take his cat. Ryoma has had that cat for two years now, it was a gift after his first national win, and we will not be handing him over," Oyagi declared firmly.

The poor worker seemed flustered as the situation was spiraling out of control. "Sir, the security footage showed that-"

Oyagi cut him off though, "Showed what? The cat escaping his room and running after us? Obviously! The cat is very attached to Ryoma and didn't want to be left behind, so he probably jumped a few balconies saw a man about to leave his room and took the opportunity to follow."

"That's preposterous! That cat is mine and I shall have it back this instant!" Vernon hollered.

"Yadda. My cat," Ryoma petulantly spat out from behind the old man.

Vernon's face managed to discover a new shade of purple. He looked ready to push the old man out of the way and throttle the boy. The hotel worker tried to interject but he was a skinny fellow and didn't look like he wanted to get hurt. It was a scary situation and Harry wasn't sure what was going to happen next. He knew what he wanted to happen; he wanted Ryoma to keep him and for Vernon to leave, but his Uncle wasn't easily deterred.

"Listen boy, you will return that cat or I will have you and your whole family charged! I'm an important man! I will have my companies lawyers bury you so deep in legal charges that you will drown in debt!"

Suddenly the gentle woman entered the scene from behind him. She had a frown on her face and didn't look impressed at all. "Excuse me sir, but what are you planning to charge us with? From what I have seen and heard, your only problem is that you claim we stole your cat. Do you have any proof this cat is yours? Before you go throwing lawyers at us, I demand to see your papers. The only evidence we have that this cat belongs to anyone, is the collar it is currently wearing with Ryoma's name on it."

"Who are you?" Vernon demanded.

"A company lawyer and I can assure you that no company no matter how big or small will send their legal team after a family for a mere cat." The woman did not look impressed.

Harry held his breath, he curled up further against Ryoma, his head resting near the boy's heart again, and waited for his uncle to respond.

"Fine." Vernon threw his hands up. "If you want that blasted demon in your arms you can have him. I'm through with him. He's your problem now and if you know what's good for you, you'll strangle the bloody thing."

Ryoma held him tighter and moved further behind the old man to hide him. The boy didn't think too kindly of Vernon's words. The woman looked angry and Oyagi looked ready for a fist fight. The hotel worker meanwhile looked relieved that everything seemed to resolve itself. Vernon just turned and left, muttering to himself and probably making plans to return to England.

The hotel worker turned to leave, but he was stopped when Ryoma opened his mouth. "That man tried to enter my room when I was naked."

"He what?" Both parents yelled.

The worker blushed deeply and tried to stammer out an explanation but Ryoma was a brat and didn't let him. "I told him I was naked and he still insisted on coming in. He only went away when I told him I would tell you."

The woman was livid as she stormed out of the room. Harry watched amazed as the woman manhandled the worker down the hallway and towards the elevators. The old man ushered Ryoma into his room and told him to stay there and pack while he helped his mother take care of the man. They were changing hotels, and the old man wanted Ryoma packed as soon as possible as he didn't want his son left in such a hostile hotel environment when he was so close to winning.

Harry really didn't mind since he was getting away from Vernon. He was sure that if he stayed with his Uncle, it was a very strong possibility that he would have been killed. He would think on this whole cat issue later.

After getting his bags packed, Ryoma had refused to put him down. They waited until the Old Man came back and then they trooped out. As they were passing the lobby, they could see Vernon and Petunia at the front desk making quite the scene. He didn't hear the whole thing but what he did understand was that Vernon was furious that the Hotel was charging him for room damage.

Petunia was fiercely nodding along and threatening terrible reviews as Vernon loudly explained that he wouldn't be paying for the broken television. Harry didn't know when that happened but he had a feeling that Dudley was involved. Luckily they weren't noticed as Harry didn't want to be seen. What if his Uncle changed his mind and did really want to tie him to a boat?

The steady beat of Ryoma's heart against his ear calmed his worries. It was a strong thump thump that made him think that no matter what, this boy would find a way to keep him safe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Cha-purr 2**

Living with Ryoma was wonderful. Sure, the boy was a brat, and he was really obsessed with tennis, but Harry thought he was wonderful. He was always gentle and caring towards Harry –now named Karupin- and he made his father buy him only the best tasting tuna. After practice he would spend hours with Harry, petting him, grooming him, and napping together.

That was something Harry loved. When he was with his relatives, he barely got time to rest except at night. He spent so much time doing chores and running away from his cousin that having the luxury to just find a nice warm sunspot to nap was the greatest thing ever. He could literally walk to any window in the Echizen house and just sleep. No one bothered him, no one woke him up to make him wash the dishes… it was amazing.

It wasn't the first time something weird happened to him. Once he turned his teacher's hair blue! He still doesn't know how he did it. She was being mean and he wished that she felt humiliated like he did and then BOOM! Blue hair! Well there wasn't a BOOM. It was a boooooooom- a very slow change. No one really noticed until the blue seeped to the ends, and then suddenly everyone was laughing. It was a very quiet, slow, gradual boom.

Sure, he spent two days freaking out and running into mirrors as he tried to grow accustomed to his new appearance. He tried to change back but when nothing happened he just walked away and sought out Ryoma for comfort. Granted he didn't try very hard. He was starting to think this magic thing worked on how much he wanted something, and he really didn't want to turn back. He finally found himself a good life. Cat's had the best set up.

He was a cat now and despite his initial reaction, he quite liked it.

Another perk to being a cat that most people didn't talk about, Nanjirou, Ryoma's dad, had bought him toys to play with, Rinko, Ryoma's mother, got him a large fluffy bed, Ryoma spent 30 minutes finding him the perfect collar. He now owned his own toys! He never used the bed though. Ryoma always carried him to his bed so they could sleep together. The first few times he had been nervous and felt strange, but then he realized how comfortable it was sleeping with someone. He probably should have felt weirder about being a cat and now belonging to a family, but like most of his life he just rolled with it -after lots of counting of course.

Of course, the biggest issue was the litter box. He could accept the ears and tail. He already loved the reflexes. He even got over the whole licking thing, hairballs and all but… the litter box was too weird.

It was there out in the open. Anyone could walk by and watch him use the loo. There was no door, no privacy- just him, the box, and an audience. Dudley liked to go with the door open, not caring who walked by. Sometimes Aunt Petunia would walk by and praise him for developing so well. Dudley had no shame. Harry… Harry had shame.

The stress from doing his business out in the open had Ryoma finding him at odd places with his head pressed against doors and walls. He tried holding it in. He waited until the family were out or eating before going to relieve himself. He even tried using the actual toilet, but he wasn't great at balancing on the rim. Every time he tried he always managed to fall in. His yowls and cries had the family running to him and laughing. It's not his fault that his back legs were a little short and didn't stretch across the bowl all the way.

The litter box was his enemy. One day he would conquer it but… with all his toilet attempts Nanjirou had gotten it in his head that he had a problem and took him to the vet. Cat's pressing their heads against things… is a bad thing.

One of the upside's to being Ryoma's cat was that the boy would defend him against anything.

"Ryoma, the lady at the pet store told me that when cat's press their heads against walls there's a problem with their nervous systems. Plus, we don't know if your cat has had his shots! We need to go to the vet!"

Oyagi had said he would take Harry to the vet alone but Ryoma refused to let Harry go anywhere without him. Nanjirou argued, telling Ryoma that he needed to stay home to practice. There was a fight, some comments, and Oyagi putting his foot down and now Ryoma was sitting in the back pouting as he held tightly onto Harry. The boy had been obstinate the whole time.

"What does she know? Karupin is fine!"

Nanjirou sighed. "That cat doesn't act like a regular cat!"

"He can hear you," Ryoma spat back.

"He's a cat!"

Harry had quite enough. He was already terrified and Oyagi wasn't helping. He wanted to act like a normal cat but… he wasn't a cat. He was a boy turned into a cat and its not like they had a class set up to help you adjust and act like a cat. Granted that would be very helpful but it would also expose him and he really wanted to remain Ryoma's cat. That didn't give Nanjirou permission to talk about him like that though!

A plan formed then. As soon as they reached the vet clinic, Harry relaxed, wanting to appear calm before his victim. When Nanjirou stopped to open the door, and Ryoma passed close enough, he leapt out of his boy's arms and unleashed his claws on Oyagi's face. The man screamed a very unmanly sound as Harry got his revenge. Ha! Take that! His nervous system was fine! He was a great cat!

Ryoma eventually pried him off and soothed him with compliments on his good behaviour. Once Harry calmed down, his boy walked them to the desk and told the woman they were ready to be seen. When the woman tried to tell him, they needed to wait and fill in the required paperwork, Ryoma was his normal bratty self. He told the woman 'No, we are ready to be seen now' and then threw the clipboard at his father to deal with while he waited by the doors to the exam rooms.

They were seen to very quickly.

"He's in perfect health," the Doctor informed them. Harry was glaring at the woman. She touched some things that she had no right to touch! The more she poked and prodded, the more stressed he got and he was ready to just book it out the door, but Ryoma had picked him up just in time. The boy was glaring that the doctor as he masterfully groomed Harry's fur.

"Now about the head thing…" Nanjirou tried to lead the doctor.

"There could be several reasons for that. I will need to ask you some questions about any other abnormal behaviour Karupin has demonstrated. How long have you had Karupin?"

"Two weeks now," Nanjirou answered.

"That will make the questions a little harder then. Was there any established behaviour and training prior to you obtaining Karupin?"

Nanjirou looked confused. "Not that I recall."

Ryoma huffed. "Karupin was very stressed. His previous owner was mean to him. He only calmed down when I held him. Since coming to us he hasn't been as stressed and doesn't press his head against things anymore. He is very good. He only acts out against my father, but he has a face you want to hit, so you can't blame Karupin."

It was probably the most he heard the boy talk.

"Does Karupin pace a lot? Walk in circles? Seem to lose his balance?" the Vet decided to focus all her questions on Ryoma.

"No."

"Has there been any abnormal vocalisation?"

"No."

"Any seizures, slow reflexes?"

"No."

The vet nodded her head. "Okay, I'm going to do a blood test. Sometimes such behaviour could be due to an infection, or if Karupin ate something bad. The test will tell me more."

It was another long hour. Ryoma had to pet and soothe Harry as the Vet took blood. He glared at the woman as she checked his eyes, and when she was finally done, he was right back in Ryoma's arms listening to his heartbeat.

"I will contact you with the results but I don't think there's any reason to be concerned right now. Karupin seems fine and Ryoma may be correct that he was just stressed out with the new environment.

When the tests came back, Harry was fine, and Ryoma was smug for the rest of the week.

o.O.o

The days passed quickly in the Echizen household. During the day, Ryoma would go to school, and Harry would nap in the sunniest spot he could find. Sometimes Nanjirou would try to bug him, but Harry learned quickly to bite his toes to drive him away. The man would then retreat and comfort himself by looking at naughty magazines.

Ryoma would come home from school and do his homework while Harry napped on his lap. Then the boy would go to the backyard and practice tennis. Sometimes Nanjirou would go play Ryoma, making his boy sad. On those days, one of his naughty magazines would make its way into Rinko's hands. The fall out was hilarious and did its job of cheering up Ryoma.

At night, dinner was served, and then Ryoma would groom Harry. He did an excellent job brushing all his fur, and was gentle on any knots. Harry was always a puddle of happy goo by the end. After that, they would go to bed.

Being a cat wasn't hard. It was great, and Harry much preferred it over being a boy. Being a human was stress and pain. It was long days doing chores and hiding from his cousin. The Echizen's didn't make him fear that his limbs would fall off. They fed him, comforted him, and made him feel safe. It was something that he never felt with the Dursleys.

But of course, that had to be interrupted.

Ryoma was practicing and Harry was watching the balls, amazed at the speed they flew over the net, when a strange man walked into the Echizen backyard. He had a long white beard, tiny gold glasses on his long-crooked nose, and a very colourful suit. He was like the old man who lived down the street and liked to collect weird teapots on his porch.

"Excuse me my boy," The man started. He had an English accent that instantly set Harry on edge. "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions, won't take a moment."

Harry quietly stood up and ran into the house. The Dursleys didn't care what happened to him, as demonstrated by him being a cat and given away, but he did overhear them telling Dudley all about stranger danger. Never take candy from people you don't know, don't go anywhere with people you don't know, and tell an adult if you don't trust a situation.

Harry didn't trust this at all!

Finding Rinko, Harry ran around the woman's legs and howled. That got the woman's attention. Once he noticed her looking, he used his head to nudge her legs in Ryoma's direction.

"Karupin, what has gotten into you?" Rinko asked. Harry huffed and kept trying to push her. Curse his small body that couldn't budge her. "I don't have time to pet you right now I'm preparing dinner."

He didn't want to be petted! He wanted to save Ryoma from the weird old man! Desperate times! Leaping onto the counter, Harry snatched the flank steak the woman was preparing and ran. Rinko cursed and then she was giving chase! Harry led her outside just as the man started reaching a hand out to touch Ryoma.

Rinko's shriek was heard all down the block. "Don't you dare touch my son!"

Bam! Harry for the save!

Wow, being a cat is a real personality changer.

Settling down to watch the show, Harry started to nibble on the steak. It was his reward for a job well done.

"I'm sorry Ma'am. I am looking for a lost boy and I was hoping your son could help me," the man started.

"So, you had to let yourself into our backyard? If you needed help you could have knocked on our front door like any normal person. Now get off my property before I call my husband!" Rinko was not playing around.

"My apologies for trespassing but before I go, may I ask you a favour. A boy named Harry Potter went missing. He came to Florida on vacation with his family and disappeared, if you see him would you contact me?" The man slowly walked towards Rinko and held out a picture.

When the man first said his name, Harry had darted away and hid under the porch. He would bet his whole bag of cat treats that his face was on that picture. He didn't know who this man was but he didn't like him. He was trying to take Harry away from his new family and he was not going to let that happen. He would scratch the man until he gave up!

"If I see this boy I will contact the proper authorities so he may be returned to his family," Rinko assured the man. "If that is all, you may leave now."

The weird old man left, but not for long.

That night as Harry was sleeping, he was startled awake by Ryoma's bedroom door opening. Standing in the doorway was the man. Harry began to scream and hiss at the man, needing to protect Ryoma from him.

"No need for that noise, Harry. I have spelled the residents of this home asleep so that we may talk," The crazy guy said. Oh! That made him feel so much better! "If you will allow me, I shall cast one more spell so that we may talk."

"Get out! Get Out!" Harry screamed. Harry was desperate for the old man to just hear him and get out.

"Now that isn't a nice thing to say," the man chastised him.

"I don't care. You need to leave my family alone!" Harry shot back. He was baring his teeth, his hair was on end, and he was looking for the perfect chance to scratch the man.

"I mean them no harm." Like he's going to believe the bad guy!

"Really? Cause you said you spelled them asleep!" Harry hissed. This man came into his safe space and was shaking things up. He didn't like it! Just when things were going well for him, this man had to ruin them!

"It was a mere precaution and they will be alright. They will wake up in a few hours after having one of the best sleeps of their lives."

He didn't care! He needed this man gone! "Please just leave. Leave them alone, leave me alone, I don't want to leave. I like it here. For the first time, people are nice to me!" Harry pleaded, not realizing he was speaking English again.

The old man looked sad. "I'm sorry my boy. I never meant for you to have such a hard life. But you must not let it drag you down. I can change you back into a boy and take you some where safe. I can take you to a world where you will be surrounded by children just as special as you."

That sounded terrible. Harry didn't want to be with other children like him. He wanted to stay with the Echizen family. He wasn't special, he a was a freak, but at least as a cat he was loved.

The man slumped forward a little. "When I heard that your relatives returned from a trip without you, I went to investigate. They were telling the neighbours that you had died in America. I have the ability to read minds, and when I looked into there's, I was terribly saddened. I never thought you would suffer so much. I thought that your Aunt would love you like her own son but I was wrong. I can not apologize enough to you for putting you in that house."

Harry looked away. "Then why can't you leave me here? I am happy here. They take care of me and love me," he pleaded.

"Because you are not a cat, you are a human boy and you need to return to your own world. There are a lot of people looking forward to meeting you. I promise you, things will be better for you in the wizarding world. No one will hurt you like your family did."

"You're already hurting me by telling me to go. I want to stay here." Why couldn't this man just leave him alone? He already admitted to giving him to the Dursley's and now he was trying to put him somewhere new? He couldn't trust this man and he did not want to go with him.

"I will make a bet with you Harry. I will cast a spell to change you back into a boy but if you can hold off the spell and remain a cat, I will allow you to stay with this family for a year."

Harry perked up. For what he managed to guess abut magic was that if your will was strong you could do anything. So, if Harry wanted to remain a cat more than the old man wanted him to be a boy, he would win. "Okay, but you promise to leave me alone for a year?" He didn't trust this man.

"I swear on my magic that if you withhold my spell, I will leave you in peace for a year." A swirl of colourful wind swept around the room. Harry hoped that meant the promise worked.

"Okay…" he agreed.

The old man lifted stick, muttered some weird words, and shot a light at Harry. Bracing himself Harry refused to return to a boy. He was cat now and he didn't want to leave Ryoma. He could feel something inside him trying to stretch him out. His limbs were starting to burn, but he clenched his teeth and told the feeling no. Something snapped inside him and suddenly his body was flooded with a cooling sensation. The pulling stopped and Harry flopped over exhausted. His tail flickered slowly and he was happy to still even have a tail!

"I see…" The old man sounded sad. "A promise is a promise. You may enjoy this family's hospitality for a year but I will return to take you back to the wizarding world. You can't live your life hiding like this Harry. It isn't healthy."

Harry didn't care what the old man said. He was allowed to stay here! If he made the same bet with the man every year, then he could live with the Echizen's forever! Because he was positive his will would always be stronger.

Soon the man left. Harry didn't return to sleep though. He stayed up all night watching Ryoma. Only when his boy opened his eyes in the morning with a yawn did Harry calm down. Hey followed his boy around all morning until he left for school. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with him. He still took too long in the shower, wanted eggs and toast for breakfast, and rolled his eyes at his father. Everything seemed fine.

Happy that his boy was safe and okay, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

o.O.o

Harry cried happily as he ran and jumped around the court. Ryoma was practicing tennis and Harry was chasing any lose balls around. It was a good game he had going where he would find a ball and he push and tumble around it until it reached Ryoma again. It was a good thing the boy had a whole basket of them, because Harry wasn't exactly speedy in his retrieval.

"Son, we need to have a talk!" Nanjirou loudly announced as he came out of the house. Harry mainly ignored the man. He liked to pick on Ryoma, and would make the boy upset every time they played together. Plus, he would still talk like Harry wasn't a real cat. It was rude.

"Oyagi, I'm practicing." Ryoma complained.

"This won't take a minute. Your mother keeps complaining that I am a no-good layabout moocher who does nothing with my time except make our son's life difficult," Nanjirou started.

"Mom is always right," Ryoma muttered under his breath. Harry slowly slunk over to the two, wanting to hear more.

"So, I went and got myself a monk job."

Ryoma actually looked up and looked at his father for the first time. "A monk?" The boy sounded shocked. Well as shocked as the normally monotone boy could be.

"We will be moving to Japan, isn't that exciting!" Nanjirou seemed so happy, but Harry didn't care about that. Ryoma looked devastated. "I figure this will be a good change for you. I already enrolled you in my old school. Ryuuzaki-sensei is looking forward to coaching you!"

"Ya! Why would I want to go to Japan? I'll stay here with mom and you can enjoy the monk lifestyle by yourself!" Ryoma was done with the conversation and turned back to the court to keep working.

"That's the best part. Your mother got a transfer to Japan too. How nice is it that her company decided to open a branch in Tokyo?"

Ryoma stopped moving, "Baka Oyagi… how long have you been working on this?"

Nanjirou just smiled. "For awhile. There's no one to challenge you here anymore. You need to go and play new opponents. Japan has a lot of strong players just waiting to face you. If you want to be better, get stronger so that one day you can beat me, this is the best way."

"Japan isn't strong." Ryoma objected.

Nanjirou just kept smiling. "Do you think so? How about we make a deal. We will go to Japan and if you can't find at least one strong player in the first month, I will send you back here."

Ryoma smirked. "Made made dane, oyagi."

It looks like they were moving to Japan.

He would like to see the old wizard find him there.


	3. Chapter 3

**Cha-purrr 3**

Japan was just like California. Well to him. The Temple was large and it gave him lots of space to wander and play, just like the house in California. But the one big difference was that there was now a fence surrounding them and they weren't near the water. He liked it though. He never got to travel and now he's been in three different countries!

Also, they now lived with Nanako, Ryoma's cousin who was in University. Rinko's sister lived in town a little too far from Tokyo for Nanako to travel, and she never liked having her daughter live alone in the big city. When Rinko announced she was returning, her big sister asked her to take Nanako in. Rinko had been thrilled and Harry got another admirer. Of course, Ryoma would always be his favourite, but Nanako had these delicious little fish snacks that only she knew the location of. She was Harry approved.

Ryoma wasn't doing well though. The move had been long and hard on the boy. While he didn't have friend friends back in Florida, he did have some people he tolerated and liked to play against. There was a blonde boy that came by to play with Ryoma sometimes. Now he was in a whole new country where he only knew his parents.

He tried to show a strong indifferent front to his parents, but at night he would stroke Harry's fur and tell him the little things that he didn't like. For example, Rinko insisted on making a western style breakfast now that they were back in her home country. She liked to be reminded of America and thought the key to transitioning from one country to the next was through food. Ryoma didn't like change and he didn't like having his first meal of the day being changed. Another thing, was back home Ryoma was respected. He pretended that he didn't care what others thought of him but he worked hard to earn respect and here in Japan everyone looked down on him because of his age, size, and that he was technically a foreigner.

Harry hated that his boy was being bullied. Before he even started school, Ryoma entered a tennis tournament to check out the local talent. He admitted he was hoping to find someone decent to play and to let out some of his frustration about the move. He even entered the 16-year-old division for a challenge. Instead he had been bullied by an older boy.

He had come home that night agitated.

The boy had cheated several times and had started calling balls out when they were in. Since it was a self-judged game, he couldn't say anything. Instead he out massive top spin on the ball so when it landed, just in side the line, it wouldn't bounce but rotate in place. After that, the arrogant cheater tried to physically assault Ryoma! If he could only have two minutes with the cheater's hands, he would claw them all up. But most importantly, the one thing that annoyed Ryoma the most, the older boy disrespected the game of tennis.

Ryoma would claim he didn't love tennis. That he only played to prove he was better than his father, but that was a lie. Ryoma loved tennis more than anyone in the world. He just didn't want to be picked on for failing. So he hid it. He played a fair game, but never put his all into it.

"Che. Some people. If a ball is out, it's out. Cheating is a weak man's game," he muttered as he ate dinner.

"What was that?" Nanjirou spoke up? "Couldn't hear you seishounen!"

Ryoma glared at his father and stuffed more food into his mouth.

"How was the tournament? Did you win?" Nanjirou seemed a little too giddy. He probably dipped into the sake. Or the man loved being back in Japan and torturing his son. Harry would need to get revenge for that.

"I defaulted. I was late." Ryoma admitted.

"Ha!? You were lost before you even played?" A loud laugh followed the loud statement. "Hahaha! Should I have escorted you there? I didn't know you needed a babysitter!"

Harry heard enough. It wasn't Ryoma's fault that someone gave him bad directions. Harry narrowed his eyes and slowly crawled under the table. Nanjirou was still talking, making dumb statement after dumb statement implying that Ryoma was a baby and needed someone to hold his hand. Well, he wouldn't be able to for much longer!

Harry crouched down, wiggling a little as he pinpointed his target. Counting to three, Harry jumped right into Nanjirou's lap, his claws sinking deep. His target screamed and Harry quickly clawed up his chest. Getting over the edge of the table Harry jumped off the man and snatched his fish as he ran away. Nanjirou yelled and tried to chase him, but Harry was too fast. He backtracked and ran through the old man's legs, making him stumble and fall. As he landed on his butt, Harry ran back to Ryoma and settled in his lap.

"Baka Oyagi…" Ryoma muttered with a smirk. "Good job Karupin. Enjoy the fish."

He had been silent the rest of dinner but at the end he stood up and announced he was going to practice.

Nanjirou had followed him out still nursing his wounds.

That night as Ryoma was getting ready for bed he looked better. He had let go of the frustration from being bullied and his heart seemed to settle a little. It wouldn't last for long.

Ryoma started school.

Harry wished he could follow his boy to school to shut some of the older kids up. His first day a teacher tried to call him out and embarrass him in English class. Of course, he was made to look a fool as Ryoma was fluent in English and a good student! Then when he went to sign up for the Tennis club, some older boys tried to scam him and steal his money. He was starting to notice a trend in Japan. Every one liked to bully or be a bully.

That wasn't the end for Ryoma though, some really good tennis team member came to play and tried to bait Ryoma into using his twist serve. Harry was no Tennis expert but be considering his boy had many championships under his belt and how intensely he practiced, he knew that Ryoma was a strong player. It wasn't a surprise that people would challenge him but there had to be an unwritten rule somewhere that talked about a fair challenge.

Ryoma hadn't been happy that night since the good tennis guy had an injured ankle and was only making it worse by insisting, he play tennis. Ryoma had been able to pinpoint it right away and didn't want to worsen the injury but the other guy was so annoying, that made Ryoma irritated and he started to play for real. If the idiot was knowingly hurting himself worse then it was his own fault if he got so hurt that he had to sit out the whole season.

Of course, this is what Ryoma said had happened. But Harry had no reason not to believe him. Ryoma was always honest in his words- to Harry. Not his feelings, but even then, instead of lying he would deflect the question or ignore it.

Then something happened that made Harry want to change back into a boy and test how this magic thing worked. The mean boy from tennis had gone too far. How dare he steal his boy's rackets! Ryoma had come home one afternoon without his tennis bag and Rinko had noticed right away.

"Ryoma, where is your tennis bag?"

Ryoma had looked away and didn't say anything.

"Ryoma, what happened?" Rinko stepped forward and cupped Ryoma's face, forcing him to look her in the eye.

"Someone took it," Ryoma pouted.

It was like a switch had flipped. Rinko took a step back, removed her apron and was suddenly a Mama Bear willing to go to war for her cub. "Who took them?"

"An upperclassman," Ryoma sighed. "I don't remember his name." Which was true. Ryoma had trouble remembering faces and names and others he forgot intentionally.

"What did your Captain or coach do about this?" Rinko's hands were on her hips and her foot was tapping impatiently.

Ryoma shrugged. "Captain made me run laps. Coach wasn't there."

Rinko narrowed her eyes. "He made you run laps when you were the victim? What kind of school is this? I am going down there right now and talking to your coach! I will have you enrolled in a better school by tomorrow!"

"Kaa-san…" Ryoma whined quietly. "You can't do that." He said a little louder.

"And why not?" Rinko didn't look like she was going to listen.

"Then Oyagi will think I ran away. I can beat these people."

"Ryoma, you don't have to do things you don't want to just because your father. I will not allow my son to be bullied!" Rinko was not backing down. He could see who Ryoma took after more in terms of personality.

"But I can't run away. I will face them head on. They want me to feel weak but I will never let that happen." Ryoma was determined. He wasn't a push over. No one would ever make Ryoma feel like how Harry used to feel with his family.

Suddenly Rinko was back to her normal self. "Oh my baby boy is so strong! You learned that from me I know it." She said as she tried to pinch Ryoma's cheeks. "My brains, my looks, the only thing you got from that no-good husband of mine is your tennis talent. I am so proud of my baby boy!"

Ryoma remained quiet but he was blushing at her words.

"I will leave it alone but if things get bad for you, you better let me know." Rinko said in a serious tone. Harry also wanted to know if anyone hurt Ryoma. He would personally track them down and shred their tennis clothes! Kids were mean and cruel so he would start sharpening his claws.

Deciding to leave the loving mother and son alone, Harry walked away to find something to sharpen his nails with. He needed to be prepared at all times to defend his boy.

20 minutes later a scream rang throughout the house.

"That damn cat ruined my magazine!" Nanjirou screamed. The smirk on Ryoma's face was worth the noise complaint.

o.O.o

Over time Ryoma seemed to settled into school. He even made it on to his school Regular team, showing that he was the best at tennis. Harry was very proud of him. He loved that every night Ryoma would cuddle him and tell him about the interesting people he played. He seemed to really look up to his captain.

"Eiji-senpai hugs too hard. I can hardly breathe. Mada mada."

"Poison. He made that juice to kill someone so he can be a regular again."

"Doubles with Momo-senpai is hard. Che. This is why I don't work with others."

"They are loud. They call out every shot. And they keep walking on to the court. So annoying."

"Tezuka-buchou is strong. I can beat him."

One night, after a tournament, Ryoma had come home with an injured eye. While playing, an opponent had made him lose his grip and the racket flew out of his hand and broke. In the process, the handle bounced back and cut his eyelid. Harry had been so worried that he refused to leave Ryoma. He even walked in front of him and tried to make sure that nothing was in Ryoma's way. His boy wouldn't trip on his watch.

His father had made a big scene out of it and laughed until Rinko came and smacked him across the head.

That night, Harry witnessed something he hadn't before. Rinko and Nanjirou had a fight.

Normally he would be in bed with Ryoma, but he had to get up to do his business and when he passed the master bedroom, he could hear some loud talking.

"This never happened in the states! He is not like you Nanjirou. He's been bullied, he's had his possessions stolen, and now he is coming home after almost losing an eye!" Rinko was upset and Harry fully supported her.

"It was an accident! I spoke to Ryuuzaki, if he hadn't tried to spin and keep playing, then-"

"You will not put the blame for this on Ryoma! You taught him to win at all costs. You have humiliated him every time he has lost, and you think that he's not going to do everything in his in power to win a middle school tournament? How scared do you think he is at the thought of coming home after a loss like that. He defaulted once and you belittled him at dinner. I stay quiet because I know speaking up in front of him will only make him more embarrassed but you can't keep treating our son like this!"

"He needs to learn! He only knows loss when he plays me. He needs to lose to others in order to grow! He can't be the best without experiencing heartbreak." Nanjirou sounded so serious and aggressive. Harry didn't like it.

"Heartbreak? Loss? He is a 12-year-old boy, not a racehorse you need to break!"

"If he wants to be the best then-"

"He? He wants to be the best? Ryoma just wants to play tennis, YOU want him to be the best. Our son could have lost his eye today! Do you even care?"

Nanjirou hit something at Rinko's words. "Of course, I care! I love our son!"

"Then show it!" Rinko argues back. "Because I don't see it and our son doesn't see it!"

Harry retreated then. He used the loo and then went back to cuddle with his boy. It was good to know that Rinko was supporting her son from behind.

o.O.o

It was time. Harry was finally going to venture out of the temple and show those no-good tennis team players not to mess with his boy!

Ryoma had been doing so well. He was making friends, loving tennis, winning left and right. Then last night happened. Ryoma wouldn't even talk to him about it. His boy had come home late and depressed. He ate quietly, refused to practice, and went straight to bed. He had laid awake hugging Harry for hours before he finally passed out with a murmured "I lost". Then he got up and went to school, without talking any more.

They had done something to Ryoma and Harry was going to find out what! His boy wasn't so weak that one loss would do this to him. His team had said or did something that really hurt his boy.

He had to wait for Nanako to leave for school. She had a late morning class and liked to spend the time after Ryoma left for school gathering his laundry and playing with him. She would notice if Harry took off before then, so he needed to wait. Nanjirou wouldn't care where Ryoma went, and Rinko being the responsible parent was already at work.

When Nanako finally left, Harry darted out the front gate and took a left, the only direction he knew towards Ryoma's school.

It had been a lot simpler to get to the school than he thought. He was lucky that a student was running late and Harry easily followed the boy as he ran and stumbled his way along. His luck be like that sometimes!

Reaching Seigaku, Harry was lost. It did not look like his school back in England. His school was an old Victorian relic covered in Ivy and with a clock tower and lots of green lawn and gardens. Seigaku was… more modern in that it was a concrete block surrounded by asphalt and a fence with sparse patches of greenery. He really hoped the back of the school had some more trees. Walking slowly, Harry tried to find the tennis courts.

"Kawaii!" a series of high-pitched squeals broke into his thoughts. Turning his head, he was horrified to see a group of girls rushing towards him. They were moving so fast, their arms outstretched and a crazy look in their eyes.

Harry bolted.

He was not sticking around to be man-handled by those demons. Darting around to the side of the building, he was happy to see some trees and bushes. Diving inside, he crouched low to hide as the group of harpies ran past, still screaming for the cute cat they saw.

When the group had disappeared around the next corner, Harry snuck out and inched along the side of the building until he saw an open door. Taking his chances, he darted inside and came face to face with a long hallway full of lockers. Deciding to explore, Harry walked around. It was a nice school, very clean and organized looking. Peeking into a classroom he saw lots of students with their heads buried in books. The next room had a student at the chalkboard talking to the teacher about math. The third classroom looked like a science room where a boy with spiky hair was pouring neon coloured liquids into each other.

Growing bored, Harry decided to find the roof. From such a high vantage point he should be able to see the whole grounds and from there find the tennis courts. Climbing the stairs all the way to the top, Harry was glad to see that the door to the roof was open. Walking outside he purred at the feeling on the warm sun on his face. This would be a great spot to nap.

He was a little tired from the journey….

Flopping down, Harry rolled onto his back to nap in the lovely sun for awhile.

He wasn't sure how much time passed, as a cat he didn't really need to worry about hours and minutes anymore, but soon he was waken up by the sound of giggling girls in the stairwell. Slowly opening his eyes, he walked to side and looked around. Lots of students were now on the grounds. Lunch had started. Running along the side, he quickly took everything in until he saw the tennis courts. Trying to memorize their location, Harry ran back to the door and bolted through it just as the giggling girls opened it.

He needed outside and to a safe space fast!

It took some time but finally and made it back outside. He needed to dodge a good number of kids but there was no major roadblock.

Things didn't really progress how he thought they would. He got to the tennis courts, and hid while the kids practising at lunch finished. He tried to sneak into the clubroom but they locked it too quickly. So he napped on the roof. When school ended, he waited until some fool left the door open and darted inside. Just when he was ready to unleash his claws on the whole room, he heard a hissing noise behind him. An older boy wearing a bandana was standing behind him looking confused. Cat in your locker room, that's fair.

Harry was going to ignore it and try to walk out like nothing malicious was going on… but the boy picked up a cat toy. Harry didn't even know where it came from, but it was bright and moving so fast… he needed to catch it! He pounced and tried to catch the toy. They played together for a long time, but with all the excitement and fun Harry soon grew drowsy and fell asleep.

Later he was woken up by a bunch of boys making noise that there was a raccoon in the room. Idiots. He was clearly a cute cat. How did they not walk into things all day when they clearly needed glasses? Yawning and stretching out, Harry was going to try and start mischief again, but he was picked up.

Squirming around, he was faced with the spiky haired boy that picked Ryoma up in the morning, some guy with no eyes, a boy with weird bangs, a cheery boy that smelled like fish, and a old man in a school uniform, presumably the Captain. What an odd bunch…

He meowed at them, honestly, just man handling him like he was a doll or something. He would like to be put down so he could go back to his original mission of chaos. He meowed again and tried ot wiggle out of the constricting arms.

"Come now kitty. We just want to help," the spiky haired one tried.

Pfft. Like he would believe that. They didn't know his purpose, they wouldn't trash their own locker room. He meowed even louder and tried to escape.

Then the no eyes boy opened his lids… it was like a cold chill ran down his entire body as deep blue eyes drilled into his own. They were heavy, forcing pressure on him, reading his mind and intentions and telling him to obey. Well he wasn't much of a rebel anyways. One of his greatest strengths and talents was the ability to listen to orders. Harry settled down and mewed quietly in compliance.

The spiky haired one gently wrapped him in his jacket, and gave him a few pats on the head. Harry just settled down and sent a few looks towards No Eyes-sama. The Eye Master was calmly smiling and following along with the rest, like he wasn't some Mind Wizard… but Harry knew the truth now. He would keep quiet, no reason to rock the boat here.

Soon they were back to Ryoma's house and Harry jumped into his boy's arms. Ryoma looked sad and stressed, but once they were hugging, he could feel the tension leaving his boy's body. "Karupin,"" Ryoma whispered before rubbing his face in Harrys fur.

"Ah. Senpai-tachi… thank you." Ryoma let out after awhile.

"Hahaha" Spiky laughed. "We knew you were worried about your cat so we made sure to bring him back as quickly as we could.

Harry's ears twitched. Ryoma was worried about him?

"Ryoma-kun!" Nanako called as she entered the hallway. "You found him!"

Oh… Things were starting to make sense, Harry got it now. They thought he was missing, Ryoma was worried… but now they were together again! Everything is fine.

Ryoma's teammates were very kind hearted to make sure that Harry got back to Ryoma safely. Maybe they weren't the reason his boy was upset… so it was probably good he didn't trash their locker room… Well he would wait for the real reason and use all his pent-up aggression on the rightful target.

Finally, Ryoma opened up. That night as they were in bed, Ryoma finally spoke about losing to his captain. How he tried everything, every move he knew, all the skills he learned over the years but none of them were enough to defeat his captain. Ryoma was confident, he was sure of his skills, but for the first time, he was utterly crushed by someone other than his father. It was a hard lesson, something Ryoma never thought he would experience.

He played plenty of people, his age or older, and even grown adults with more experience than Ryoma's age never matched him. Now suddenly, a boy only a couple years older than him, could defeat him so easily. This was the lesson that Oyagi wanted Ryoma to learn, the reason they moved to Japan…

He had some magazines to destroy.


End file.
